Think Well On't/Day 24
THE TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.
On the presence of God.
CONSIDER, that God is everywhere. If I ascend into heaven, says the Psalmist, Psal. cxxxviii. 8. thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art there. He fills both heaven and earth; and there is no created thing whatsoever, in which he is not truly and perfectly present. In him we live, in him we move; our very being is in him. As the birds, wherever they fly, meet with the air, which encompasses them on all sides; and the fishes swimming in the ocean everywhere meet with the waters; so we, wherever we are, or wherever we go, meet with God; we have him always with us; he is more intimately present to our souls, than our souls are to our bodies. Alas! poor soul of mine, how little have we thought of this? And yet it is an article of our laith, in which we have been instructed from the very cradle. Let us seriously reflect on this truth for the future: let us strive to be always with him, who is always with us.
2. Consider, that God being everywhere sees us wherever we are; all our actions are done in his sight; our very thoughts, even the most secret motions and dispositions of our hearts, cannot be concealed from his all-seeing eye. In vain does the sinner flatter himself in his crimes, like the libertine mentioned by the wise man: Eccl. xxiii. 28. that darkness compasses him, and the walls cover me, and no one sees me: whom do I fear? Alas! the eyes of the Lord are infinitely brighter than the rays of the sun; and no darkness, no clouds, no walls nor curtains can keep out his piercing sight, which clearly sees the very centre of the soul: and no wonder that he should clearly see what passes there, where he is always present.
3. Consider, that God, who is in all places and in all things, is everywhere whole and entire, because he is indivisible; he is everywhere in all his majesty, with all his attributes, all his perfections. We have then within us, my soul, the eternal, immense, omnipotent, self-existent, infinite Lord and Maker of all things; and we are within this infinite Being; wherever we go we have him with us. He is everywhere with his omnipotence, to which all things are subject; what then have his friends to fear? He is everywhere with his infinite justice; how then can his enemies be secure? He is everywhere infinitely good to his children; his love, his kindness to them surpasses that of the most tender mother: he watches over them with his providence; his wisdom wonderfully disposes of all things for their greater good: what comfort then must this thought of the presence of God afford his servants and those that truly fear and love him?
4. Consider, that God, being everywhere requires of us that we should everywhere take notice of his presence. Can there be an object more worthy of our attention? And shall we then be so unfortunately blind, as to amuse ourselves about every trifle that comes in our way, and let our God, the sovereign beauty and sovereign good, pass unregarded? Ah! let us never regret our being alone, since we have always in our company that infinite Being, the sight and enjoyment of whom is the eternal felicity of angels. What if we see him not with the eyes of the body, is he the less present? And have we not within us other more noble eyes, viz. the eyes of the understanding, which, assisted by divine faith, may and ought to contemplate their God, always present in the very midst of us? Ah! the sweetest repose is to be found in him; all other recreations are vain, if compared to this.
5. Consider, that God being everywhere present requires of us, that we should comport ourselves, both as to the interior and exterior, in such manner as becomes those who are standing in his sight. The presence of a person, for whom we have a respect, is enough to put a restraint upon us from doing any thing that is light and indecent: and shall not the infinite majesty of God, in comparison with whom the greatest monarchs of the earth are less than nothing, by his presence keep us in that exterior modesty and interior reverence, which may please his eyes? Ought we not even to annihilate ourselves in the sight of this immense divinity? But, O good God, how far are we from these dispositions, as often as we dare to sin in thy almighty presence, and fly in the face of thy sovereign majesty! Alas! my poor soul, how should we be ashamed to have our sins known to such and such persons, whose esteem we covet! We should be ready even to die with confusion to have them published to the whole world. We should be very unwilling to have even our vain and ridiculous amusements, though otherwise innocent, laid open to the eyes of our neighbours. And why will we not consider the all-seeing eye of our great God, which is always upon us, which clearly discerns all that passes in the most secret closet of our heart? Why will we not reflect, that our evil thoughts being known to God, is indeed a greater shame, a greater loss of our true honour, than if they were published by sound of trumpet over the universe.
6. Consider, that God being everywhere present everywhere requires our love: he is everywhere infinitely amiable, infinitely beautiful, infinitely good, infinitely perfect: and wherever we are, he is infinitely good to us. Why then do we not love him? He is all love: Deus charitas est, says St. John, 1 Ep. iv. God is love. We have this loving and most lovely God always with us; and always in us; why do we not run to his embraces? He is a fire that ever burns: this fire is in the very centre of our souls; how then come we to feel so little of its flames? It is because we will not stand by it. It is because we will not keep our souls at home, attentive to that great guest who resides within us, but let them continually wander abroad upon vain created amusements. Turn, O my soul, into thy rest. Psalm cxiv. 7. Turn away, my soul, from all these worldly toys which keep thee from thy God; and return to him, thy true and only happiness, and in him repose for ever.